Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Two Book Collection (Juvenile) (17 page)

It seemed like a such a silly thing to do, and at several moments Geekus nearly stopped trying.

He'd been crawling through the dark forest for about half an hour now, pulling up weeds, roots, plants, bulbs, ferns, herbs, and many similar growing things, and putting them into a sack he'd made of his undershirt.

He had an idea, and these items would help him see it through. But was it really a good idea, or just a wild notion that could get him—
gulp!
—eaten?

He didn't know, but it was the only idea he had at the moment, so he was stuck with it. Time was running out. For his friends inside the castle. For his aunt, Queen Xumonia. He just couldn't sit around and do nothing.

So he was collecting all these plants and bulbs and things and throwing half of them into a big pile close to the edge of the chasm and keeping the rest hidden in some bushes nearby.

Most of what he'd gathered were sweet cabbage sprouts—a tasty little plant that grew under the thick pinecones of the forest. Geekus knew that the farm animals back home loved the sweet cabbage sprouts, but they were hard to find, and harder to pull out of the ground to eat. Now if they were hard for the chickens and pigs to find, Geekus had to believe that something bigger would have a
really
hard time finding them. And he was thinking of something
way
bigger.

So after a long time of crawling and pulling and pulling and crawling, Geekus had gathered a three-foot-high pile of stuff out in the open, near the edge of the cliff, and another, similar-sized pile in the bushes.

Then, in what was either the bravest or the stupidest thing he'd ever done, he got two pieces of flint and struck a spark which grew into a small fire.

Then he sank back into the bushes and waited, his fingers crossed.

The dragon appeared about five minutes later.

He flew silently overhead at first—just like he'd sailed past the Castletop fortress earlier. But then he began circling the fire, coming down a bit closer every time. Geekus was still back in the bushes, trembling, wondering just how dumb someone like him could really be. He wondered what Hercules would have thought of his crazy idea.

Maybe he would never find out.

The dragon circled the pile of food for about five minutes—but then slowly, he descended. He sat down right on the edge of the cliff, sniffing around carefully before taking baby steps in toward the pile of roots—baby steps that caused the ground to quake. Geekus was petrified now—he couldn't have moved if he wanted to. The dragon was no more than ten paces away from him. Still, Geekus was fascinated by him.

The creature was beautiful and scary at the same time. He was so close to Geekus, he could feel his hot breath.

The dragon sniffed around the food for a while. Then he stuck out his very long tongue and lapped up a few of the sweet cabbage leaves. He jerked backward, and flapped his wings, ready for a quick getaway. But then he swallowed the mouthful of leaves and gave the dragon's equivalent of a burp.

Then he finally sat down for good and began eating.

The pile was probably twice the size of the garbage the Amazons fed the creature. But the creature appeared to eat it twice as fast.

The dragon was lapping up the last of the greens when Geekus knew he had to make his move. It was now or never.

Taking a very deep breath, he crawled out from the bushes and looked the dragon straight in the eye.

“Hello boy—or girl—or whatever,” he stammered. “I won't hurt you. How are you?”

The dragon just stared right back at him. He was very big. Geekus figured that his own scrawny body could have fit inside the dragon's right nostril with room to spare.

“Hey boy, can I pat you?” Geekus continued, knowing it was too late to turn back now.

The dragon just continued looking at him, snorting a little bit, but not moving. Geekus reached out with a handful of sweet cabbage leaves he'd kept in reserve.

“Here you go,” he said calmly. “Want some more?”

The dragon snorted a little more, startling Geekus. But then the creature reached out with its tongue and took the leaves.

Geekus couldn't believe it. He'd been right—the dragon was as calm as a horse.

Or at least he seemed that way.

Geekus gave him more food from his stash. The dragon took it without blinking an eye. Soon enough, Geekus was patting him and feeding him more and more.

Within five minutes, Geekus had made himself a friend. A very big friend.

“Okay boy,” he said once he was sure the dragon wasn't going to eat him. “It's time for you and me to go to work. . . .”

Hercules was still staring at the wizard, trying to remember whether he actually knew the sorcerer from somewhere.

“And what was your name again?” Hercules asked. “I guess I didn't quite catch it the first time.”

The wizard did another little shrug.

“Ah . . . ah, my name is . . . Wizza,” finally came the reply.

“Wizza?” Hercules said right back. “You're a wizard named Wizza?”

The wizard nodded.

There really was something odd about all this, but Hercules knew he didn't have time to think about it now.

“So, can you help us or not?” he asked the sorcerer point-blank.

“I can,” the wizard replied. “But I have to admit, I'm a little new at this wizard stuff. In fact, this is my first emergency call.”

“Oh, great,” Hercules moaned, shaking his head. Only Brooma would bring a sorcerer who wasn't sure how to use all of his powers.

“Well, what
can
you do?” Hercules asked the wizard.

The wizard took a look around the room.

“Quite a place,” Wizza said dryly. “Brooma is really running on empty here. But maybe—”

“Maybe you can get us outside the walls?” Hercules asked, hoping for the best.

“We can give it a try, I guess,” the wizard replied.

But then they heard voices and footsteps out in the hallway. The Amazons were coming!

“Well, if you are going to try something,” Hercules said anxiously, “now's the time!”

With that, Wizza lifted the heavy wooden wizard staff off the ground and waved it once.

“Here goes . . .”

There was no gold cloud this time. This time everything turned red. The next thing Hercules knew, the three of them were outside the vault room—but not outside the fortress walls.

In fact, they were in the middle of the courtyard of Castletop itself! And there were at least a hundred Amazons around them!

Dedra and Posey started screaming.

Hercules did too.

“Wizza!” he yelled as the startled Amazons closed in on them.

Oh, dear!
he heard Brooma say.

“Oh, my!” he heard Wizza say.

Suddenly a gold cloud surrounded them—Brooma was trying to work some magic now. They all clasped hands. Dedra and Posey screamed—and they all disappeared again.

But this time, they wound up back in their dungeon cell! And the Amazons with their hair tied around their heads and bodies were still there!

“
Brooma!
”
Hercules yelled.

Now it was the red mist again. But this time, the three of them wound up in one of the fortress's guard towers, appearing right in front of two very astonished Amazons.

“Brooma! Wizza!”

Now there was a combination of the gold cloud and the red mist. Hercules, Posey, and Dedra disappeared yet again. And when everything cleared once more, Hercules was relieved to see that they were finally outside the castle walls.

But before he could say a word, the huge fortress doors opened and hundreds of Amazons came pouring out.

“Wizza!” Hercules yelled. “Is there any way you can get us across the chasm?”

Wizza was standing next to him in a flash.

“No, I'm afraid not,” the oddly deepened voice said. “And neither can Brooma. That last transport really tuckered us out!”

Dedra and Posey never stopped crying. Hercules looked around desperately. Once again, they had nowhere to go but down.

But at that moment, they all heard a strange sound. Like the wind—except it wasn't the wind.

“Hercules!” a voice was crying out. “Hang on!”

Hercules spun around. His jaw dropped in astonishment at what he saw.

The giant dragon was flying right for them!

Dedra and Posey were now too afraid to cry, or scream, or make any kind of sound. Hercules was rather speechless, too.

“Hercules!” they heard the voice again. “Hercules—just hang on!”

That's when Hercules looked closer at the dragon. A small figure was riding right above its head.

Hercules couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.

Could it be?
he thought.

“Looks like a friend of yours has decided to save the day,” Wizza told him.

It was Geekus. He was riding the dragon!

“Now don't even think about it,” Wizza told him. “Just go!”

The dragon dove down and in one movement swooped up Hercules, who was then able to grab Dedra, who somehow grabbed Posey!

Geekus got the dragon to turn away from Castletop, flipping its huge tail and knocking over a bunch of Amazons—some of whom almost fell into the chasm.

Then the dragon flapped its mighty wings once and carried them all over to the other side of the chasm—and kept on going!

“Hang on!” Geekus was yelling to the trio as they all tried to get a grip on the dragon's back scales. Hercules was the closest to Geekus.

“How did you get him to do this?!” Hercules yelled up to the boy.

“It was easy!” Geekus yelled back. “All I had to do was tickle him! See?”

Sure enough, Geekus reached down and scratched the dragon behind his ear. The dragon let out a long, contented growl—it was obvious that he loved it!

“See?” Geekus yelled again. “He's really friendly!”

But it was hard to convince Dedra and Posey of that. They were back to screaming at the top of their lungs.

But Hercules was laughing, and so was Geekus.

“He'll fly us all the way home!” Geekus yelled as Hercules crawled up closer to him. “I know he will!”

“He'll have to,” Hercules yelled back. “It's the only way we can get the crown to the queen on time!”

The entire village of Xeres had turned out, waiting to welcome back Hercules and Geekus.

The villagers had been told everything by Brooma and Wizza, who'd transported themselves to Xeres ahead of the new heroes. Now a celebration even bigger than the Festival of the Blue Moon was about to occur. There was twice as much food, twice as much wine, twice as much music and singing. All this even though the sun was barely up!

Queen Xumonia was there, looking very old, very haggard, but very happy. Dedra and Posey's parents were also present. Their faces showed relief that their daughters were safe.

The crowd erupted as the dragon appeared overhead. He circled twice, then set down in the town square—he was so big, he just barely fit!

He lowered his head and let the four people slide off. Geekus and Hercules shook hands; Dedra and Posey, exhausted and just a tad untidy, collapsed in their parents' arms.

Hercules quickly walked over to Queen Xumonia's coach. He took the Crown of Xas from his belt, and very gently put it on the aging monarch's head. A hush came over the crowd. Then, before their eyes, they saw the queen transform from a very old person to a rather youngish middle-aged one.

Another cheer went up. A smile spread across the queen's face.

“Oh, my,” the queen said with a blush, feeling her new, tighter skin. “That felt rather good.”

XL was nearby—he'd made it home very quickly too, thanks to Brooma. Even he neighed with approval.

The queen made a gesture toward her guards, one of whom shuffled forward, bearing three gifts. One was a golden sword, one was a silver dagger, another was a fine jeweled rope.

“Next to my crown, these are my most treasured items,” Xumonia said to Hercules. “Please choose one to keep as your own.”

Hercules looked at the items, but then shook his head no.

“I could not take a gift for simply saving the life of a friend,” he said. “Your well-being is my reward.”

The queen smiled. The crowd cheered.

“I understand,” Xumonia said. “But I must give you
something
. . . .”

That's when the guard whispered something in the queen's ear.

“Of course!” the queen said.

She took the golden sword and indicated that Hercules should kneel before her. Hercules did, head bowed, wondering what was about to happen.

Then he felt the sword tap his shoulders. Once on the left, once on the right.

Then he looked up into the queen's smiling face. She looked even younger still.

“For your bravery, for your loyalty, I now dub you, Hercules, Warrior Prince!” she declared.

The townspeople cheered again.

I told you it was worth it,
Hercules heard Brooma's voice on a sudden breeze.

Geekus was now kneeling beside Hercules. He was being honored by the queen as well. His new title was Prince of Science.

The townspeople were practically hoarse from all their cheering now, but they let out a lusty one for Geekus all the same.

Then the queen stood up and raised her hands to silence the crowd, and spoke: “I want to thank all of you for your good wishes and loyalty,” she said. “And now, let the celebration begin!”

The villagers cheered their approval. The music began again, the singers sang. Food was brought out. The feast was on!

“You have a new pet, nephew?” the queen asked Geekus, looking at the dragon who was happily munching away on the potted flowers in the town's square.

“Can I keep him, Auntie?” Geekus asked excitedly.

The queen studied the huge but gentle creature, thinking about Geekus's question.

“He's very friendly,” Geekus said. “His name is Cabbage.”

The queen laughed at this. “Well, how can I not want you to keep a dragon with a name like Cabbage?”

“Yes!” Geekus yelled, throwing his fist in the air.

“I think he'll make a great watchdog for my castle,” the queen said. “And my sister Stuka will be so jealous!”

The celebration quickly went into full swing. People offered their congratulations to Hercules and Geekus, and brought bushels of fresh greens for Cabbage the dragon to eat.

Then Hercules felt a strange wind blow up. Suddenly he found Brooma and Wizza standing beside him.

“All's well that ends well,” Brooma cackled. “Isn't that right, Hercules?”

“Yes, well, I guess I owe you
some
thanks,” Hercules told her. “I mean, it wouldn't have been half as exciting if you hadn't come along.”

“I'll take that as a compliment,” Brooma said.

Then Hercules turned to the mysterious Wizza.

“I must thank you, too,” he told the wizard. “You came through when we needed you.”

“Well, of course I did,” came the rather huffy reply.

Hercules froze for a second, analyzing that voice again. It sounded a little higher and a little more familiar this time.

“Even though you're new at this wizard stuff,” Hercules said.

“Kids' stuff, you mean,” the voice from within the hood said, not nearly so deep as before.

Hercules felt a smile cross his face. He suddenly knew who this mysterious wizard was.

He reached over and pulled down the hood.

It was his half-sister Aphrodite!

“Hey!” she squealed quickly, trying to pull the hood over her head again. “You'll wreck my disguise!”

“Well, well, baby sister,” Hercules said. “You really must have some time on your hands to go around impersonating wizards. Is your social life a little slow these days?”

“I'll turn you into a toad if you breathe a word of this!” she hissed at him. “And besides, my social life is just fine. It's just, that I, well, uh . . .”

“That maybe you care about Zim and the people here in Xeres?” Hercules prompted her. “That maybe they're special to you in some way?”

Aphrodite pulled her hood back down and gave Hercules a pained look.

“Well, I wouldn't go so far as that,” she said meekly. “But when Brooma thought I was needed, I just figured I'd pitch in.”

Hercules just shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. “Well, well,” he said, “you mean there is a soft heart in there somewhere?”

Aphrodite blushed. “You won't tell anyone, will you?” she whispered to Hercules. “It could really wreck my reputation if anyone knew. I mean, I've worked hard to make people think I'm nasty.”

“Well you've done a good job at that,” Hercules said. “But you also did a good job today.”

He gave her a brotherly kiss on the forehead. “Thanks,” he said. “From all of us.”

Aphrodite smiled and gave him a slight punch on the shoulder. Hercules pretended that it hurt.

“Okay, big brother,” she said. “I owe you one.”

Meanwhile, a strange conversation was taking place right beside them between three unlikely subjects. Brooma was talking to Dedra and Posey.

“Well, one kiss has been known to work,” the goddess was telling the two girls. “Two kisses from two princesses, who knows what will happen?”

Hercules couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“Is she really suggesting those two kiss Geekus?” he asked Aphrodite. “Why?”

Aphrodite poked him again, this time in the ribs.

“Keep an open mind, big brother,” she said with a wide smile. “After all, you
are
closely related to the Goddess of Love.”

Together they watched as Brooma found Geekus in the crowd and brought him over to the two girls.

Hercules just shrugged. He'd seen many odd things in the past week. Why not another one?

So Hercules tapped Geekus on the shoulder, and said, “Be brave, my friend.”

That's when Posey leaned over and gave Geekus a huge kiss right on the lips. Then Dedra did the exact same thing—a mighty smack right on the boy's lips. But when both girls opened their eyes, they found that Geekus had remained unchanged.

In fact, he was very much the same old Geekus.

“What . . . what was that for?” he asked the girls, his voice not as annoying or nasal as usual.

“We were trying to turn you into a
real
prince,” Dedra replied.

“But it didn't work, did it?” Geekus said, dejected.

But Dedra and Posey both smiled—and kissed him again.

“No, but that's okay,” Posey told him.

“Yeah, Geekus,” Dedra said. “We like you just the way you are.”